The city was founded in 1256 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who granted its municipal charter in 1265. The siting and planning of the city was carried out by the king's knight Hirzo. The settlers were coming from the Bohemian Forest and Upper Austria.[1] The royal city was created as a platform of the king's power in South Bohemia and to counterbalance the powerful noble House of Rosenberg, which became extinct in 1611. In 1256 the Svitavy brewery was founded there (closed in 2002),[2] beginning a long-lasting tradition of fine beer brewing, culminating in the famous Budweiser Budvar Brewery, founded in 1785.

During the Second World War in March 1945, Budějovice was twice targeted by U.S. Air Force raids that greatly damaged the city and caused great loss of life. At the end of the war, on 9 May 1945, Soviet troops liberated the city. On the following day, the Red Army and the American Army met on the main square in a joint celebration of the city's liberation.

The vast majority of the city's population today are Czechs (94.9% in 2001), with 1.15% Slovaks. In the past, the city had a significant proportion of ethnic Germans, who had formed the majority since medieval times.[3] The city remained a German-speaking enclave until 1880, after which Czechs became the majority. Until the end of World War II, the city contained a significant German minority (about 15.5% in 1930). For example, the ratios between the Germans and the Czechs were in 1880: 11,829 Germans to 11,812 Czechs, in 1890: 11,642 to 16,585, in 1900: 15,400 to 23,400, in 1910: 16,900 to 27,300 and in 1921: 7,415 to 35,800.[4] However, the entire German population was forcibly expelled in 1945 under the Beneš decrees.

Low-lying city spreads mostly in the plains making it nearly flat in the inner parts with hillier areas in the eastern suburbs. The lowest point lies 375 meters ASL (1233 feet) and the highest point at 452 meters ASL (1483 feet). For it is not very well ventilated some strong frosts do occur; the strongest frost plummeted to −42.2 °C (−44.0 °F) in 1929 in the southern part of Budweis with lower temperatures elsewhere in the meantime. Nevertheless, such a strong frost is something exceptional, especially outside of valley bottoms.

Budweis has cooler and wet inland version of temperateOceanic climate (Cfb) with average annual temperature 8.3 °C (46.9 °F). There are profound four seasons with murky dry winter between early December and early March, sunny and wetter spring between half of March up to half of May changing to rainy and warm summer during late May and early September when start dry autumn lasting to late November. There is between 1550 and 1800 hours of sunshine in most years.

Budějovice has long been well known for the beer brewed there since the 13th century. For a time, the town was the imperial brewery for the Holy Roman Emperor, and Budweiser Bier (i.e. beer from Budweis) became,[7] along with Pilsner from Plzeň, one of the best-known lagers. Brewing remains a major industry.

The largest brewery, founded in 1895, is "Pivovar Budějovický Budvar" (Budweiser Budvar Brewery) which has legal rights to market its beer under the "Budweiser" brand name in much of Europe. The same product is also sold elsewhere under the names "Budvar" and "Czechvar" due to legal disagreements with Anheuser-Busch over the Budweiser brand. The American lager was originally brewed as an imitation of the famous Bohemian original, but over time has developed its own identity and attained remarkable commercial success. Anheuser-Busch has made offers to buy out the Czech brewing company in order to secure global rights to the name "Budweiser", but the Czech government has refused all such offers, regarding the Czech Budweiser name as a matter of national pride.

The oldest (founded in 1795) and second largest brewery was renamed to "Pivovar Samson", replacing its original German name "Budweiser Bürgerbräu" during the communist period. It also exported, mostly under the "Samson" and "Crystal" labels. Recently, they reacquired naming rights for Budweiser for Europe while offering "B. B. Bürgerbräu" in the US since 2005.

Local buses and trolleybuses take passengers to most areas of the city. The city can be reached from other locations by inter-city buses and by train. Internationally, a direct railroad built by the Austrian Empress Elisabeth Railway company in 1871, connecting the Czech capital Prague with Zürich, via Linz and Salzburg, also makes a stop in České Budějovice. The town will receive access to the planned D3 motorway running from Prague to Kaplice. A public domestic airport is located 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) south-west from České Budějovice, at the nearby village of Planá.

Text of European Court of Justice judgment in the "Budweiser" trademark case – Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 16 November 2004. Anheuser-Busch Inc. v Budĕjovický Budvar, národní podnik. Reference for a preliminary ruling: Korkein oikeus – Finland. Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation – Articles 2(1), 16(1) and 70 of the TRIPs Agreement – Trade marks – Scope of the proprietor's exclusive right to the trade mark – Alleged use of the sign as a trade name. Case C-245/02.